A Frugal dream in Portugal 3

Thursday 25th June.

Hey it’s Summer .

Thank you for continuing to read this and keep up with the trials and tribulations of our frugal life . We've had some great luck ( that means some money!) and Ricks’ off to price up the tyres for the van, they are really expensive out here but hopefully within the next few days we'll get on the road again. It's been quite a while and my inflamed coccyx really protests at all the time spent on the back of the bike. I'm just learning to live with it and sitting 'differently' bending over weeding also puts pressure on but stopping that just isn't an option at the moment. The anti-inflammatories upset my stomach so it seems I'm stuck with ‘ dealing’ with it for the time being. Luckily I seem to have a reasonably moderate case as it's definitely uncomfortable but not the agonising pain I have heard some folk get with it.

The Garden...

Beetroot.... bloody baby beetroot, I've now pickled 9 kilos of the stuff, but according to Rik he will need about 25-30 jars to see him through the winter. That’s damn piggish if you ask me, I'm also experimenting with freezing it partly cooked at the moment. As we eat a lot of beets hot with cheese sauce… Mmm lovely, then I need a way of keeping them for the winter, so I'm par boiling and cubing and freezing them. I've done one portion and will then cook it from frozen in the oven and see how it works out for taste and texture.

The courgettes are coming on great guns, absolutely loads of them. I'm leaving two plants to grow huge ones for marrow chutney and because marrows will store quite a long time for winter use. We eat the others just tossed in herby garlic butter.... yummy. We've also got quite a few butternut squash coming on now, plus some spaghetti pumpkins too, looking forward to plenty for storing over winter. The variety of squashes we grow make a great resource for winter food staples. They store really well for a long time and are versatile in many meals.

The peas finished and came out then Rick retilled the area so we've replanted loads more parsnips and of course the dreaded beetroot... I have some parsnips already in the ground but I never seem to get them in the ground to get a decent frost on them so they taste a little different. I’m hoping this batch should stay in long enough. This time of year is so hectic for us, the pressure is really on now to make sure we grow, gather and store as much as possible to feed us during the winter months. The land needs so much work with weeding, planting , harvesting, pickling & preserving all our glorious produce . The massive sense of security & achievement I get when I look around our kitchin and at my store cupboards keeps me going when exhaustion threatens to stop me . We are also madly trying to chop and stack enough wood for the winter, we need to fill a whole barn to the roof to have enough for our range cooker, the fire upstairs and the cottage fire too. It takes such a huge amount of work.. but it's worth it. It gives me such a feeling of security to know our barn is full and we will be warm and dry this winter.

I'm also busy stockpiling and stashing food staples everywhere. We were a little caught out last year, Rick had no work during the cold wet winter and when the economic crisis hit, the cottage rentals were poor. Luckily we had a few savings and tons of food put by, but it certainly got a bit tough at times plus I fully expect this year to be equally as tough, but this time I'll be ready!!!! Every time I go to town to shop for staples I buy something extra, if we have a little money I buy a few things. If we're skint it's just a packet of stock cubes or a tin of tuna, but always something. The store cupboard coupled with the garden, we'll be well set up for the winter. (I have 20kilos of rice already....)

Tuesday 30th June

Well the van initially failed its safety check.... what a bummer... At least you get a month to remedy the failed stuff and get a recheck. It was nothing that super Rick couldn't fix, so he took it again this morning and .... HURRAH!!! we are legal and back on the road.

It's been a super expensive time again recently and now we have to really tighten up our already very tight belt. Although we have rental guests in the cottage, somehow we have to try to accrue a small financial cushion for when the winter comes. Our lovely Bonnie cost us 85 euros two days ago, she'd been shaking her head a lot for the past few days, she has such furry floppy ears. I'd looked, bathed and ointmented her ears each day but to no avail. Rick loaded her into the van complete with waterproofs as she's generally car sick (yes he drove illegally but sometimes needs must) and bless her she quivered and drooled and shook all the way to the vets. He examined her and discovered a nasty wound so far inside it was almost in her inner ear, he had to anesthetize her to locate it. He then panicked a little as she went under so deep it was dangerous, he hadn't realised or taken into consideration just how tired she was, she hadn't slept much for a few nights. He gave her something to bring her around a little and then she was fine. He seems to have sorted the ear out, we put some liquid in every day and she's much better now...

Some things cost a lot but mean so much in our hearts it's irrelevant in the end...

The Garden

Well we've pulled the green beans... they all had some kind of blight and were no good setbacks are what self sufficiency is all about sadly. The french beans seem okay and are producing plenty. So that's good news. The cauliflowers are coming on nicely, we've had four so far, but they are a little smaller than I'd hoped, its a steep learning curve sometimes. The new potatoes are fantastic… All the onions are done there are lots and all nicely plaited and hung up. I’m so proud when I walk in the cubby and see them hanging there by the stores. The peppers are producing nicely, we are picking green ones almost every day. I have 15 plants all doing well. The tomatoes ( all 57 plants are loaded) but still green though. I’m still cropping courgettes with still plenty more to come, much to Rick's disgust as he only tolerates them. All squashes are going mad, creeping and spreading all around the garden like tentacles on an octopus but loaded with lovely big fruits. Parsnips are looking good, I'm resisting pulling one to see how they are coming on.. Beetroot.... bloody beetroot.... There are tons! My life is a mad dash between the garden and the kitchen to process it and freeze/preserve it all. At least the weather is good, actually it's strangely much cooler than normal for this time of year but for me that's not bad, we can work and sleep which is vital when we work from dawn to dusk every day ...

Wednesday 15th July

Well it's mid July, but the weather is still a little strange at times, one week it's in the high eighties low nineties, next week its overcast and rainy. I'm not complaining, it means we've got more work done and I get to sleep at night more often.

The pool has been a perfect gem this year, I don't know how we ever managed without it. Although it's not a pretty or posh sunk in the ground tiled type of thing. It’s an above ground 15 metre round one and it's absolutely perfect for us and we tend to have at least one dip every day. Now the sun deck/terrace is finished too, it really looks stunning. It's all completely tiled and you can walk straight to the pool ladder now, the back terrace wall is stepped with irregular shelves that we have decorated with plants, lanterns and candles for the hot summer nights, it's so beautiful!! I’m thrilled ! Can you tell I just love it?

Rick is actually building the new BBQ/summer kitchen area for the guests under the vines & seating area today, so that whole area will be done then. As always he's worked so hard to improve this place and provide gorgeous areas for our guests to enjoy the beauty of this place and our valley. So, maybe we’ll have a little BBQ party next week to celebrate…

The garden is still cropping heavily, also giving me tons of weeds, they have kind of taken over at the moment. I just cannot keep up, as foodstuff comes out and we get empty space, the weeds just take over, never mind, we just treat it as green manure and plough it in later... We ate the first tomato yesterday... It was still warm from the sun, so sweet and juicy you just cannot beat it. The difference in taste is amazing, miles away from shop bought ones. ...

We have tons of peppers, aubergines, caulis, french beans, courgettes too... the squash are looking fab, lots more leeks coming on, millions of cabbage and the brussels have baby ones coming... We even had parsnip thinnings baked with butter and a pinch of sugar the other night.... The flavour was stunning..

The guest cottage has done quite well in recent weeks and we still have more guests to come...phew, what a relief!

I'm still madly stashing away food and all kinds of grocery items for the winter. No matter how much food we grow there are always things we need to buy, for example I can't grow toilet paper. Just in case we have a tricky winter like last year, this time I'll be ready, the freezer is groaning even now... We now really have to spend some serious time on the wood barn though, time is getting short to get it completely filled up. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day at the moment... Oh and by the way our darling Bonnie is fine again now, happily back to digging up my yard.

Simple Aubergine Bake recipe

As we've had great success with aubergines and Rick isn't too keen on them, I've had to get very creative about making different ways to cook them. This is the best one so far, he loves it...

3 large aubergines sliced.

2 onions,

Tomato sauce, that's sort of a Passata stuff not heinz!

Plenty of good strong cheese sauce to cover the lot.

Fry the aubergine slices gently till golden brown, fry off onions till soft, layer a baking dish with aubergines, onions, tom sauce until full, then top off with strong cheese sauce and bake till all is soft and brown and bubbling....yum.I serve it with rice n beans and plenty of veg... cauli and carrots make a nice colourful plate...

August 14th

August update...

Wow, has it been that long since I did this, a whole month! I just don't know where the days go. Well the 2nd week in August and it's hot, bloody hot and when I say hot I mean over 100degrees at our place. Thank God we have the pool, it's not a flashy built in one but boy is it heaven in this weather, I cant keep out of it.

The main trouble with this weather is that it's just too hot to get anything done although we do try to get up early and accomplish something in the cool of the early morning. The last couple of days it's really not been possible as we've been awake most of the night it's too hot to sleep. So we tend to sleep late in the morning, well, late for us is 8 o'clock. Our problem is an uninsulated roof, half of our place is still just tiles, you can look straight up to the tiles and there is nothing to keep us cool. Even with the original wooden ceiling in the bedroom it still gets very hot, mind you I do think even with insulation it would still be too hot, that's just how it is. We know that and it's something we cope with for the few weeks of the year. It's all part of 'Living the dream' . By the end of summer I actually long for winter and the cooler weather, but at least we know during the cold of winter that some time the rain will stop and we'll get a fantastic summer... unlike in the UK when it seems never to come…

Well the garden has gone to pot... the main growing area is more or less finished now, all done and in the freezer. The are still a few cabbages, brussels and a late crop of onions to come, meanwhile we work on the top area, with the tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and squashes. Ive harvested 27 butternut squashes already and a 2nd flush of small ones are coming now. The tomatoes have been fantastic, absolutely kilos and kilos, soon I'll have enough for the winter in the freezer so I will be making passata, puree & pasta sauce. We can expect to be eating fresh courgettes, peppers, tomatoes and aubergines well into October when we get some early frosts.

The freezer is jam packed with our produce, we expect winter to be tricky again this year moneywise. We’ve had rentals in the cottage but Rick’s had very little paying work so we have next to no reserves now. Ive madly marketed our cottage and hopefully that will keep ticking over this year. We need so little money to keep going, so I'm not too worried really, I've stockpiled loads of stuff just in case though it's such a shame you can't grow toilet rolls..

We are trying to concentrate on sorting out our wood barn , we still don't have enough for the winter, it's just trying to find the time to fit it in...I'm making chutney and pickling tons of everything as pickles are a good supplement to basic winter meals. I’m also set to start blackberrying, they are so late this year. My trouble is not so much room left in the freezer now, but it's vital to fit in some extra fruit.

Some frugal living recipes.

Chickpeas and Veggies .... a sort of stew.

Sorry but all the amounts are quite vague as I'm not a very precise cook, a handful of this, a dollop of that...I have a litre jug and use that to soak the dried beans in etc...for Rick & me I'd soak only a coffee mug of dried chickpeas, when soaked they'll swell to about half a jug full, which is plenty.

So...Chickpeas, as above.

3-4 big tomatoes- sliced

3-4 small green peppers (I pick mine about the size of an orange) chopped.

1 big onion, 2 if you like - chopped

A couple of small aubergines or 1 large one - diced.

A good big handful of sliced green beans...

I used a chunk of cauliflower I had left over too,

A good half teaspoon of thyme.

Plenty of chopped parsley.

A good dollop of homemade passata..

A good dollop of olive oil.

Hot pepper sauce to your taste - optional...

Veg stock cube.

Soak and cook chickpeas... REMEMBER! To boil for a few mins, then simmer till soft, add a bay leaf and herbs but not salt or they'll be tough Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan , fry off in olive oil the onions, tomatoes & aubergines, add thyme & parsley... Simmer till all is soft and melded together then add a dash of water, crumble in a stock cube. Add the rest of the veggies and simmer till soft and fragrant... add passata and hot sauce to your taste... (some may want to add a sprinkle of sugar if the tomatoes were not very sweet) Add chickpeas and cook for a few mins to let them absorb the flavours... Serve with boiled rice.

My Bean burger recipe

I tend to make loads and freeze them , it's the closest thing we have to fast food... The amounts are basic... I also use a 2 litre jug as a measure,

Soak enough dried beans, I use a mix of borlotti and black eyed beans to one third ish fill a 2 litre jug, when fully soaked this will almost fill the jug... I tend to soak overnight at least!

Bring to the boil then simmer till soft.

Drain, (save the cooking water) put beans into a large mixing bowl, using a hand whizzer blend roughly, I leave about a third of the beans whole for texture. Then add a beaten egg, a good couple of handfuls of oats, maybe more depending on your mix... it depends how wet your mixture ends up. Add a couple of ounces of good strong grated cheese, a small tin of sweetcorn, a tablespoon or so of sesame seeds, a medium onion finely chopped, a real big dollop of soya sauce, and chopped mixed herbs (whatever ones you like). I tend to use parsley, coriander and of course garlic, then a good two or three heaped tablespoons of plain flour, at this stage if it's dry add a little of the bean cooking water, it will firm up when you leave it to cool anyway.

Leave the mix to cool well, prepare a large tray lined with greaseproof paper, put well - seasoned flour into a dish, take a dollop, I use a table spoon , and roll in the seasoned flour. Then shape with your hands to desired size and put on a baking tray. fill the tray with as many as possible well spread out & open freeze. These can then be put into bags when solid. Fry with a little olive oil and onions when needed, they only take a few mins...

¨**** I put the leftover bean cooking water into a pan, add a chopped onion, chopped carrot, a stock cube, any other leftover veggies I have plus a hand full of small elbow pasta, simmer till soft, and season to taste... Veggie soup for lunch

Wednesday 26th August

Working picking, working picking...

That's what all the days seem to be about this week, we've been madly working on the log pile for winter. We need such an incredible amount of wood to keep us plus any cottage guests warm. Well, I didn't come all the way to Portugal to be bloody cold.. I could do that in Wales.

As we have guests arriving at the end of the week( hurrah) we needed to get at least the noisy bit over with, the chainsawing and chop sawing bit before they arrive... Rick then manually splits it with the axe and I stack it, so far we've half filled the barn but its a damn big barn!!! We will have two if not three fires to keep stoked all winter. Plus the cooking range to keep full up too, but it’s free if you don't count the work put into it and elbow grease costs nothing... When I'm not sawing, stacking or dragging home logs, I'm picking veg and freezing them. At the moment the freezer is so jam packed I'm not sure where much more will go...So I’m looking at more ways to preserve the produce or swapping it for things we need with our neighbors in the village. At least all the squashes, pumpkins and spaghetti pumpkins will store well in the cubby. We have loads, I’m thrilled!!

It's the tomatoes I'm having a problem with. I've frozen so many, made passata, puree and pasta sauce (all in jars) . We've eaten them fresh every day, plus had soup for lunch most days too... and still they come... I've given kilos away too. All in all, we must have had around 45 kilos. The cherry tomatoes are just starting now.... phew. The aubergines are still doing very well, I still have loads of peppers coming too. The abundance of fresh food we are producing this year astounds and delights me every day, it far exceeds my wildest dreams.

I’m picking a few blackberries but again, having trouble finding storage space, we've done well with fruit this year. It seems everyone has had a good year with plums as we've been inundated with free bagfuls. Our peaches are looking good too, they need just a bit more sunshine...

It's cooled down a little the last few days, it's wonderful with a good fresh breeze at night so we are getting some decent sleep. Although the forecast says we're in for 34degrees over the weekend.

Thursday 27th August

Contentment

I was reading a post on a blog the other day, don't ask me which one, I seem to pop in on so many lately, and the theme was life changing moments.

It set me to thinking, something we have more time for now we live here. What is the most important thing I have since coming to Portugal? Well, I can't really put one thing above the many, but one that's way, way up there on the list is contentment. When you consider we have, in material means , many times less than we ever had in our lives, less money, less stuff (I dislike stuff) as in belongings, no tv, radio or home computer, few really of modern day 'things'. We've downsized our complete lives, but in so many other ways our lives are richer and more fulfilled then I ever dreamed they would be.

We effectively ´'got off´ the whole bandwagon, well as much as possible anyway, we've tried to take our pleasure and enjoyment in different ways, we look back to a simpler lifestyle where work wasn’t a dirty word that everyone hoped to avoid. So much time in the UK was and is spent trying to avoid work, disliking work, inventing and buying 'labour saving devices'. what's actually wrong with a bit of hard work? Nothing really, providing that, the work is something you enjoy, something you feel is productive and relevant to your life. We are lucky now, ours is and we love it.

We work harder here than ever before, but I have come to enjoy it. I like to look at the wood pile we've created, the food we have grown, stored, preserved and cooked each day . The wood barn delights me as I know we'll be warm this winter. I hope this isn't too much of a ramble... I'm trying to make my thoughts coherent..

I think what I'm trying to say is, we look at things differently now, before I tried to fit so much into one day, everything was rushed and stressful. Now I try to just do my best at whatever I'm doing, I enjoy cooking, so all our food is homemade, homegrown, and fresh. I mend our clothes rather than buy new, we try to simplify everything we can, including our attitudes to life and people . We don't crave what we know we'll never have, we are content with what we have, our house is still a semi ruin, it will effectively take us the rest of our lives to finish, but that's not a problem it's part of our journey.

We can enjoy our time, feel the glow of satisfaction of a job well done, enjoy the simple things like the swallows flying above the house in such intricate patterns, the Eagles calling to each other across the valley, the smell of the forest early in the morning, picking and eating our food fresher than ever... so many things we have.... such richness of life... we are blessed

September 15th

Hammocks, helpers, wood and even more chutney....

Yes folks, I've made more chutney, heaven alone knows what we'll do with it all, but I just cant let the produce go to waste and I've still maybe one more batch worth of ingredients left... I'll use it barter with, if nothing else. It's getting to be a slightly different recipe as the days go on, the green tomatoes I picked are ripening in the basket so its becoming green & red tomato and marrow chutney, with some apple thrown in for flavour, Rick is even scraping the pan and eating it straight... he just loves it! Whether he will by the end of the winter and numerous jars later, will be a different matter.

I've been catching up on yet more jobs that were on my mental list to do before winter... I spent two days tidying the cottage guest area, the gravel was a bit scrappy and weedy. It's a pig of a job but I have to keep on top of it as long as possible or by mid winter there is no gravel to be seen, just a wilderness of weeds. Last year it took two or three days to re-sort it... I don't want that happening again. Luckily we have plenty of helpers( eco volunteers) coming this autumn so it shouldn't happen. Between now and Christmas we have a French woman coming to experiment with me, making soap, cosmetics and herbal remedies... I'm so looking forward to her visit. A young English woman who just wants to experience how we live... hahaha hopefully she'll not be too shocked...

Then a young couple coming during Nov, plus a big strapping Canadian who wants to chop logs... We've also got two lots of friends coming at some point....plus my brother in law John arrives tonight for two weeks.. it's all go...We are looking forward to lots of fun, company and food...

I've also been stacking wood, we are starting on the fourth row across the barn now, plus I collected four sacks of pine cones and bundles of bark for fire lighters... If the weather stays good like this we may even manage the winter without running out.... hehehehe I say that every year and we always do… I might even get to spend an odd hour reading in the hammock under the vines..

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Well that’s it for Summer, look out for Autumn coming soon